Translator: Nox

Chapter 32

32. Love is 2021.08.18.

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Afternoon at the Go academy. Yena placed Go stones on the board one by one, lost in thought. I'm good at Go. But my grandma and mom aren't. So why am I good at Go?

‘Could my dad have been good at Go?’

Jeong-o didn't tell Yena about her dad. Whenever the word "dad" came up, Jeong-o smoothly changed the subject. Yena's thoughts naturally followed her mom's lead. She wasn't very curious about her dad, and she liked that she could have her mom all to herself without having to fight with a dad. She was satisfied with the fact that she was her mom's eternal partner. That's how it had been until now, but after becoming friends with Do-bin, Yena started thinking about her dad a lot. Do-bin was a kind and good friend, but he talked about his family too much. His dad's stories always came up naturally. Do-bin talked about his dad without a second thought, but from Yena's perspective, who didn't have a dad, Do-bin's stories were sometimes hard to relate to. Yena, who was staring at her friend Do-bin, who was only playing marbles instead of studying Go, asked.

"What's good about having a dad?"

Yena brought up the topic of dads first. Do-bin, happy, thought for a moment and said.

"Mom says Dad earns money so we can eat and live."

So, are dads needed to earn money? My mom and grandma also earn money, so does that mean I don't need a dad? Yena tilted her head and asked again.

"What else is good?"

"Um... it's good when we go to the swimming pool."

"Why?"

"I'm a boy, so I can't go with Mom when I take a bath, I have to go with Dad. Like going to the bathroom."

"So, since I'm a girl, I don't need a dad? Right?"

"Yeah. I guess so."

Do-bin nodded and suddenly looked at Yena as if he had remembered something.

"Oh, but there's also this. It's good because he hugs me when we go to the hospital."

"Your dad hugs you?"

"Yeah. When I go with Mom, we just hold hands, but when I go with Dad, he hugs me like this."

Do-bin pretended to hug a doll.

"Because Dad is strong."

Everything Do-bin had said so far hadn't mattered, but the word "hug" made something inside her chest feel all fuzzy. Dads are strong, so they can hug you when you go to the hospital.

"Yena, when I become a dad, I'll hug my kid when we go to the hospital too."

While Yena quietly nodded, Do-bin didn't forget to promote himself. Yena, who didn't hear Do-bin's confession, just muttered to herself.

"Yeah. I wish I had a dad too."

"Then should I ask? Ask my dad to be your dad too."

"I don't think it'll work?"

"It might work. My dad said he can do anything for me."

Do-bin said another good thing about his dad like that. Yena couldn't easily refuse, and told Do-bin twice more that it probably wouldn't work.

After the academy class ended and he dropped Yena off at the restaurant. On the way home, Do-bin said to Jin-seo in an innocent voice.

"Mom, Yena and I decided to share Dad."

"What does that mean?"

"Yena doesn't have a dad."

Do-bin smiled contentedly. He felt proud. Love is. Mom and Dad said they love him so much that they want to give him anything. Do-bin felt the same way. He liked Yena so much that he wanted to give her anything. He was happy to have something to give Yena. Jin-seo suppressed her laughter and said to Do-bin.

"Do-bin, then you won't be able to marry Yena, are you okay with that?"

"Why?"

"If you have the same dad, you'll be siblings. Siblings can't get married. Didn't you know?"

The face of the son, who had been wearing a Buddha-like smile, turned pale.

"What should I do then? I already promised Yena?"

"I know. This is a big problem."

Do-bin's eyes shook as if his life had collapsed at the unexpected answer. Actually, he hadn't been able to ask Yena to marry him yet... Last Thursday, on Yena's birthday, he had prepared a letter and a acrostic poem, but he hadn't been able to show it to her. He had first performed a crab dance and three magic tricks to make Yena, who had burst into tears because her mom hadn't come home from work yet, laugh. He couldn't cling to a friend who was crying, "Mom, Mom," and say, "Marry, Marry." Love is like that... creating an unexpected decision by flowing with "what happened." He had been proud of his decision, but now. He had already promised, so what should he do? * Evening time. Jeong-o and Gi-hoon were talking at their seats.

"Assistant Manager, I heard someone deliberately planted a virus on your laptop?"

"Well. I don't know. I heard it's a popular virus these days, and someone in the planning team was also having trouble with it."

"Ah... so it was just a coincidence?"

"I guess so. But it's true that someone deliberately deleted the files I uploaded to the cloud."

"Oh. So there was a culprit. As expected!"

"Yeah. At least it's a relief that it's been revealed that it wasn't my fault."

"Can't you find the culprit?"

"They said they can't tell because they worked on a public computer."

"That's too bad."

The office was quiet, so the two's conversation was conveyed to those around them without any noise.

"Ah! Assistant Manager! I think we might be able to find the culprit!"

Jo Si-nae, Assistant Manager in Production Team 1, who had been perking up her ears near the two, flinched. Jeong-o and Gi-hoon's conversation continued.

"Huh? How?"

"Have you ever heard of a fingerprint recognition mouse?"

"Ah, there's such a thing?"

"Yes. I don't remember if it was Room B or Room C, but someone once complained to the IT management office that the public computer and mouse there were broken. At that time, the IT management office staff replaced the computer and mouse and changed the mouse to a fingerprint recognition one. The part where the thumb touches the mouse, right? The fingerprint there is stored on the computer. You can use that information to find out who keeps breaking the computer."

"Oh, really? I should look into it. Which public computer did the culprit use."

Si-nae's hands, sitting at her seat, trembled violently.

"Yes. Please find out quickly. It seemed like the information wasn't transmitted through communication because it was for security purposes, but it was encrypted and stored directly on the computer. You can't erase the information that's left on the computer."

"I know. If that damn virus that's going around these days gets on it, we might never catch the culprit. We need to move quickly. I can't even guarantee that the management office will cooperate because it's sensitive information."

"If it's difficult, I'll go with you. My classmate is in the IT management office."

"Oh! Thank you so much, Gi-hoon! Then let's go right away tomorrow morning!"

"Yes!"

The conversation ended there. Jeong-o and Gi-hoon sat down and continued their work. The sound of typing on the keyboard could be heard cheerfully. Si-nae carefully got up from her seat. Her hands were trembling and her heart was pounding. It seemed like planting the virus on Lee Jung-o's laptop had gone well, but the problem was the public computer in the C printing room. Last Thursday, Si-nae deleted the data that Lee Jung-o had uploaded to the cloud in the C printing room. She thought everything was perfect, but she never dreamed that the mouse there would be a fingerprint recognition mouse. Si-nae took a USB and secretly headed to the C printing room. It was the least crowded place in the company, and it was evening, so she didn't run into anyone. Still, she muffled her footsteps and reached the C printing room. A very small room. The computer in the corner was the same as it was then. So was the mouse. ...Was it? She couldn't remember well. She was so nervous at the time that she didn't have the capacity to check such things. Anyway, the current mouse was definitely a fingerprint recognition mouse. Like Gi-hoon said, the part where the thumb of the right hand touched was unique. It seemed like it recognized fingerprints there. Si-nae wrapped her thumb in tissue and turned on the computer. There was no problem turning on the computer.

‘But, where do I find my fingerprint information?’

She heard that the fingerprint information was stored on the computer. But Si-nae doesn't know how to use computers well. As Si-nae pressed this and that, she was startled when she heard a rustling sound from outside.

‘I have to solve this quickly!’

There was no other choice. She had no choice but to use the last resort. Si-nae took out a USB from her pocket. Someone she knew through someone else had made it for her, and it was very simple. It was a novel item that automatically spread viruses inside the computer just by plugging it into the USB port. Si-nae plugged the USB into the computer and turned the computer off and on. A scene she had seen once on Jeong-o's laptop monitor flashed by.

"It's done!"

"What's done?"

"Gasp!"

Si-nae was startled by the woman's voice coming from behind her and turned around. Jeong-o and Gi-hoon were standing there like grim reapers. Si-nae's face turned bright red.

"U-uh... what brings you here? Assistant Manager?"

"I asked you first. Jo Si-nae, what are you doing right now?"

“I came to print!”

“It looks like you’re planting a virus on the computer, not printing.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

“That’s what the screen says. It’s the same virus that was on my laptop. Why are you breaking a perfectly good computer?”

“I didn’t do it! This screen popped up when I tried to use the computer!”

Si-nae screamed, veins popping out of her neck. She couldn’t afford to fall here. Just then, Gi-hoon strode over and pulled out the USB plugged into the computer.

“What’s this USB?”

“……”

“This USB belongs to Assistant Manager Jo. Didn’t you say you got it as a souvenir when you went to the wedding expo a month ago?”

She didn’t expect Gi-hoon to remember something like that. She was momentarily flustered, but Si-nae continued to insist.

“Was I the only one who went to the wedding expo? And I never received such a USB. What I received was different!”

“Yes. I understand. The camera will prove the exact truth.”

Jeong-o sighed deeply and pointed to the corner of the ceiling in the print room. Si-nae’s face was now completely distraught. This was a place without cameras! When did they install something like that!

“So, Assistant Manager Jo was the one who deleted the file I uploaded to the cloud here.”

“Do you have proof? Do you have proof!”

“The place where the file was deleted from the cloud was here. Print Room C. Weren’t you here to erase that information?”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Okay. Let’s say that’s not it. You can’t deny planting a virus on my laptop, can you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Even a dog would laugh at your delusions.”

There was no evidence. The erased past was not evidence. If she kept insisting like this, they would eventually be unable to say anything. But Jeong-o didn’t back down either. Jeong-o took the USB from Gi-hoon.

“We can find out by analyzing this USB. Whether the virus inside is the same as the one that broke my laptop. If they are the same, the encrypted codes embedded within will also match.”

Si-nae felt a chill down her spine. Just then, Ji-heon appeared with several employees.

“It’s too noisy. What’s going on?”

“Assistant Manager Jo, why don’t you tell them yourself.”

Jeong-o said to Si-nae. She was completely caught.